Warm Brown Rice Salad with Pomegranate, Fennel, and Apple

It’s winter, and it’s been pretty darn cold these last few days in the Pacific Northwest. In fact it’s the coldest winter we’ve had in 20 years. That’s cold enough for us. Don’t worry, Winter 2016-2017, we’re impressed.

We don’t mind the cold so much. It forces us to stay inside, to hibernate, and make our home a cozy nest. We are grateful to have a roof over our heads and ample heat in our apartment.

There is one thing we really don’t like about the cold: It’s not salad weather.

Compared to the rest of the year, this is the time when we are less likely to want to eat salad. We’re cold, and salad is cold. Not the best combination.

It’s unfortunate, because during the winter months our bodies are working hard to defend ourselves from cold and flu viruses being passed around. Our bodies need a nutritious diet of vegetables to maintain that defense.

But guess what: Salads do not have to be eaten cold.

Yes, it’s true. Salads can be warm.

At what point does a salad ceases to become a salad and becomes a plate of warm vegetables?

One way to prepare a warm salad is to add one hot, cooked main ingredient and combine it with the rest of your raw ingredients. Such as a cooked grain, like in this Warm Brown Rice Salad with Pomegranate, Fennel, and Apple.

We love cooking brown rice in our Instant Pot, because it cuts the time almost in half (32 minutes versus up to 60 on the stove top). It also cooks the rice to the perfect consistency for grain salad. Tender but firm.

About The Author

Lindsay is The Salad Lobby's co-founder and Chief Salad Lobbyist. Travel is one of her main inspirations. She loves salad and makes a lot of it. To her, salad is perfect food—food in its simplest and freshest form. Her favorite motto: "Salad to the People!"